Agile Teams in Digital Media

As we move towards the third decade of the 21st century, the development of emerging technologies continues to grow alongside innovative practices in digital media environments. This chapter presents a comparative case study of two teams (Team A and Team B) in a professional master's program during a 13-week, project-based course. Based on the role of documentation and the reflective practitioner, team blogs representing learner experiences of Agile practices were analyzed. This case study chapter focused on one blog post of a mid-term release retrospective. The results of this case study are framed around Derby and Larson's (2006) Agile retrospectives framework, including: set the stage, gather data, generating insights, deciding what to do, and closing the retrospective. The case study results suggest the need for public documentation of retrospectives and how this can be challenging with non-disclosure agreements. Also, the authors identify the importance of being a reflective practitioner. Future research on educational and professional practices needs to be explored.

Blockchain Technology Applied to the Cocoa Export Supply Chain

This chapter recommends applying block chain technology to the cocoa supply chain. Using this technology, it will be possible to show and guarantee the traceability of the final product. Traceability in the cocoa chain begins in the production stages (harvest and post-harvest) to obtain relevant data related to cocoa beans and their producers, promptly, until finding the raw material origin and inputs used during the process. The material provider's name must be considered, as well as the manufacturer's expiration date, the batch number, and the production area's reception date. This is why authors recommend using Block chain, which is a data structure that stores information chronologically in interlinked blocks. It works as a digital master book and the participants reach an agreement to register any information in the blocks. Throughout the chapter, authors show how to apply this technology.

Canvas Marketing Plan

Canvas Marketing Plan is a design thinking tool to help companies build a marketing plan that allows them to make better decisions. It provides a simple structure that allows the user to visualize the dynamics and interaction of the different stages of the marketing plan and adapt the products and services to the needs of their clients, thus, “finding” the best position in relation to their competitors. This chapter presents a methodology of marketing that aligns the marketing plan with a highly connected and constantly changing market, but also online interaction vs. offline interaction, thus facilitating marketer planning. The canvas marketing model is validated by 146 marketeers from 17 distinct sectors of activity, allowing authors to gauge the timeliness and usefulness of this Framework.

Restructuring the Production Process

Process management, innovation, technology, and knowledge management are tools to achieve better results and create value for an organization, specifically for the law firm. This is why organizational processes, or business processes, have become fundamental structures for the management of modern organizations and to maintain the competitiveness of organizations. As a result, it was possible to identify that the use of process management techniques and tools is decisive for rational use of processes, increased productivity, and better customer service, presenting an ideal conceptual model.

From the Interview “Eye in the Eye” to the “Eye in the WhatsApp”

This study analyzes how technology and social media have transformed the praxis of press advisory activity and projects within the scope of the Communication of Organizations. To this end, it finds impacts on the functions of the activity facing this new scenario caused by the emergence of social media, updating the required profile of the new press advisor. The study adopts the conceptualization of the functions of the press officer in the organizational communication made by Duarte (2009), analyzing 17 of these functions in this new context. Authors studied the praxis of each function, before and after the advent of social media. They chose these functions because they stand for the dynamics of the Press Office, from the strategic to the operational level. The study found which social media are most used by press officers to publicize actions of their organization.

Information Technology Study Cases

This chapter focuses on the use of project management tools, techniques, and software in projects. The chapter includes a detailed discussion on the use of information communication technology within projects and provides a tour of the software and project management methodologies used to deploy projects. To contextualize the discussion, a case study of four startup projects hosted by two different incubation centers is presented. The case study discussion is structured around four themes: financial aspects, family support, legal perspective, and project success and failure. Findings from the cases are then compared against the literature reviewed; finally, the chapter concludes by providing recommendations. However, the result divulges there is no proper mechanism that encompasses the use of project management software.

Industry 4.0 in Pumping Applications

This chapter addresses the so-called Industry 4.0 and some of its applications in industrial pumps, seeking to emphasize its characteristics and benefits. The introduction of 4.0 industry technologies in this traditional industry can cause profound changes in existing business models, providing greater customer satisfaction, either improving the effectiveness of equipment operation, contributing to better adjustment to working conditions, and also prolonging their life cycle. We are still in the early stages of these technologies and a lot is yet to evolve; however, there are already interesting examples developed by some pump manufacturers around the world, some of which will be mentioned in this chapter. It is subdivided into three main parts, namely brief historical panorama from the first industrial revolution to Industry 4.0, current applications in the industrial pump industry, and finally, future research directions and conclusion.

Information Management for the University-Enterprise Interaction

This chapter analyzes the importance of Information Management for the phenomenon of University-Enterprise (U-E) interaction, based on the Directory of Research Groups (DGP) in Brazil, of the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq). The methodology used consisted in analyzing, by the empirical-analytic research and descriptive-analytical approach, the data available on this database. The data is about the activities of the research groups of the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA), interacting with companies from 2002 to 2010. Results show information management is important for this occurrence because it contributes to the recognition of interest and the conditions of interaction of the actors, enhancing the transfer of knowledge and technologies.

Are Family Businesses a Good Environment for Project Management?

Relationships between project management, operations management, and organizational strategy are well-known, as well as organizational influences on project. Family businesses work on projects, but their unique nature makes family firms a challenging context for Project Management. This chapter aims to present and discuss the specific dynamics of family business that can impact project management practices. By definition, a project is a complex system, consisting of a set of dozens of interrelated sub-processes. As is known, the percentage of projects that satisfy both technical requirements, budget compliance and which meet the deadlines, is extremely low. This fact forces the researchers to equip themselves with more sophisticated tools to face the complexity of a project, in order to increase its chances of success.

Strategic Information Management

The implementation of a digital information strategy project in a real estate company is analyzed in this chapter. This involves its historical and socio-economic framing and a brief description of the activity sector in which the company operates. Several well-managed digital projects have been developed to improve the competitive position of the company, but without focus, all the activities lose strength because they might not reach their proposed targets. Some tools to identify the information needs of business activity developed are described as well as the role of information as a promoter of competitive advantages. Social media tools were utilized and proved to be a great strategic decision. To conclude, a few reminders of the factors to consider in developing the information strategy to implement and that information management without a strategy could result in several diversified decisions without any positive consequence for the organization.